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The sky is ablaze with color at the Jefferson Memorial — which is part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of Drew Geraci. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/27/15.

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She Said: The cats’ fur does so much better when I feed them some bacon grease. I need to cook more bacon.

He Heard: You are going to get more bacon soon.

She Meant: It’s spring. The cats are shedding, and I need to help them process all of those fur balls. So, I’m going to cook bacon and feed them the grease. They’ll feel better, their coats will look better, and they won’t be throwing up so much. Oh, and I’ll be cooking with more bacon.

He Understood: Bacon for breakfast.

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A very long time ago, I said that the purchase of a portable dish washer saved our marriage. It was a different time, and our first apartment didn’t have a dishwasher. Washing dishes was a point of, uh, discussion from time to time.

Our apartment didn’t have major appliances, but it did have live music every school morning; we got to listen to the Hart High marching band from across the street. Given that we were both working late nights at the time, it wasn’t a benefit, believe me.

The Sears Craftsman Dust Collector on a happier day.

But I digress.

Life has changed, of course, and we no longer need a portable dishwasher to add to our domestic bliss. The problem now is that I can be a dirty boy. Dirty, dirty boy.

I got cleaner, though, when I began to use a dust collector. The machine makes a huge difference in the amount of sawdust in the garage workshop air. And, if it’s not in the air, then I do not carry the sawdust into the house, much to Velda’s relief. I have an upgraded Sears Craftsman 1-1/2 HP, model 152.213370 that eliminates dust particles down to 1 micron in size. It is great.

Was great.

The dust collector gave up the ghost this week. The motor will no longer go: the on-board circuit breaker blows every time I hit start. I replaced the circuit breaker, hoping that was the issue … no joy.

This isn’t just a dirt problem, as I can’t use my drum sander or planer without a dust collector (those tools, you see, generate clouds of sawdust). I can’t easily build cutting boards without those tools. Using the other tools might be possible … but it would be dirty. Very dirty.

Luckily, I found a used, comparable replacement on Craigslist … and the motivated seller is delivering it to me today at 8am. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.

Here’s what happens when I run the router table without dust collection. Sawdust. Everywhere.

The dead not-a-tool moved out of the shop and into the queue for disposal.

The motor that gave it up after only 11 years. I know Sears no longer makes the unit, and they no longer offer replacement parts … but, really? It was working just last week!

The hole in the shop that needs filling. It’s been 10 years since this area of the shop was empty.

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The scenic Handies Peak Wilderness Study Area in Colorado is known for its mountains, multi-colored rock formations, diverse vegetation and vast, open vistas. The area is home to Handies Peak, which rises 14,048 feet over the area — plus 12 other peaks that are more than 13,000 feet, three major canyons, glacial cirques and three alpine lakes. This landscape makes Handies Peak WSA a perfect getaway for hiking, backpacking, camping, mountain climbing and photography. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/24/15.

A gorgeous pic of Yosemite Valley on an early spring morning. Photo by Douglas Croft. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 3/26/15.

Great Falls Park in Virginia has many opportunities to explore history and nature, all in a beautiful 800-acre park only 15 miles from the Nation’s Capital. Explore one of the nation’s first canals, see the Great Falls of the Potomac River or enjoy a hike along Mather Gorge’s dramatic clifftops. Pictured here is an early morning view of the stunning waterfalls. Photo by Michael Leung, Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/16/15.

A journey through Zion National Park’s Subway is like no other. Photo: Korey Taylor. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 3/19/15.

Handies Peak Wilderness Study Area. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/24/15.

Two bear cubs holding paws at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Lake Clark is home to a diverse population of wildlife, including brown bears. During the summer months, it’s common for visitors to see a gathering of bears along Lake Clark’s Cook Inlet. Photo by Mary Gretchen Kaplan. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/26/15.

Well, I used to, anyway. My mother commented recently that my hair has more sawdust in it than she remembered. But it’s red. Honest.

In my heart, I am a ginger.

My senior picture, 1974, when the sawdust wasn’t flying so much.

I’m an award-winning red head, actually, as I won the contest for the baby with the reddest hair at the Graham Street Fair. How I ever beat out Kathy Linville, I’ll never know … maybe she won an award for some other cuteness. By the time we were in elementary school and our mothers belonged to the same club, we were mistaken for twins. Why? The hair. Believe me, it was only the hair.

Today, I read that red heads are known to react differently than other people to things other than the sun. Specifically, novocaine is known to not affect people with red hair as quickly as it affects the other unlucky 99% of the population.

Perhaps that explains the time that Mom took me to the dentist – I was probably 6 years old. Old-time dentist in Savannah, MO. How long ago was this? He had a water-cooled drill, but didn’t have a suction machine to take the water out of your mouth. Think about it.

In any event, the dentist gave me a shot and dove in … and when he started to drill, I grabbed his arm and yanked his hand out of my mouth. While the drill was working on my teeth that WERE NOT NUMB.

At the time, I blamed the dentist. I still do. But maybe, just maybe, he would have blamed my red hair.

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An amazing pic of a moose enjoying the delicacies at Denali National Park in Alaska. Moose in the park tend to live in forested areas that are often close to lakes and marshes and other bodies of water. They graze on grasses, underwater vegetation, bushes, coniferous needles and deciduous leaves. Photo by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 3/23/15.